This might not be the typical expat blog, written by a German expat, living in the Philippines since 1999. It's different. In English and in German. Check it out! Enjoy reading!
Dies mag' nun wirklich nicht der typische Auswandererblog eines Deutschen auf den Philippinen sein. Er soll etwas anders sein. In Englisch und in Deutsch! Viel Spass beim Lesen!
You plan to move to the Philippines? Wollen Sie auf den Philippinen leben?
There are REALLY TONS of websites telling us how, why, maybe why not and when you'll be able to move to the Philippines. I only love to tell and explain some things "between the lines". Enjoy reading, be informed, have fun and be entertained too!
Ja, es gibt tonnenweise Webseiten, die Ihnen sagen wie, warum, vielleicht warum nicht und wann Sie am besten auf die Philippinen auswandern könnten. Ich möchte Ihnen in Zukunft "zwischen den Zeilen" einige zusätzlichen Dinge berichten und erzählen. Viel Spass beim Lesen und Gute Unterhaltung!
Visitors of germanexpatinthephilippines/Besucher dieser Webseite.Ich liebe meine Flaggensammlung!
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Showing posts with label By: Ian Nicolas P. Cigaral - @inquirerdotnet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label By: Ian Nicolas P. Cigaral - @inquirerdotnet. Show all posts
Money sent home by overseas Filipinos continued to post modest growth in May, underscoring the vulnerability of remittance flows as tensions from the prolonged conflict in the Middle East threaten to disrupt the livelihoods of migrant workers.
Cash remittances sent through banks rose 2 percent from a year earlier to $2.7 billion, according to data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The pace matched April’s increase, leaving remittance growth at its slowest in four years.
In the first five months of the year, cash remittances totaled $14.1 billion, up 2.5 percent from a year earlier. That, however, remained below the BSP’s downwardly revised forecast of 2.7-percent growth for full-year 2026.
The Philippine peso slipped near its all-time low while stocks almost surrendered a hard-fought wall as the highly divisive Donald Trump returned to the White House to reclaim the US presidency.
The local currency finished Thursday’s trading at 58.73 against the greenback, weaker than its previous closing of 58.661.
The peso’s worst showing yesterday stood at 58.805, few centavos away from the record-low 59. Funds valued at $1.6 billion switched hands during the trading session.
Noel Reyes, chief investment officer for Trust and Asset Management Group at Security Bank Corp., said such volatility might send the peso testing the 59-mark until next week, although he believed the level would provide a “strong resistance” as markets price in the second Trump presidency.
It also did not help that the country’s economic growth slowed to 5.2 percent in the third quarter, which Reyes said necessitated the need for more rate cut easing from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
”And with Trump finally winning, his expansionary policies and tariff plans will be inflationary and will increase their deficit, necessitating prolonged high … interest rates [in the US],” he added.
Over at the stock market, shares slipped by more than 2 percent and nearly gave up the 7,000 level that investors held on to for almost two months.
By the closing bell, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) fell by 2.11 percent, or 150.98 points, to 7,014.44.
Likewise, the broader All Shares Index shed 1.97 percent, or 78.33 points, to close at 3,891.64.
Value turnover was at P9.72 billion for 1.11 billion shares, stock exchange data showed.
The stock barometer briefly touched the 6,900 level during the day—going as low as 6,923.99—before clawing its way back to 7,000, albeit with difficulties.
While Washington is thousands of kilometers away from Manila, Jonathan Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co., pointed out the local economy “faces renewed macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges arising from Trump’s trade and economic policies.”
With the strong performance at Wall Street and the continued appreciation of the US dollar, he said the PSEi might fall further to 6,500 to 6,800—or levels it had not touched since August and September.
Nearly all subsectors were in the red, with investors dumping property and mining stocks the most.
Wendy Estacio-Cruz, research head at Unicapital Securities Inc., told the Inquirer that traders would likely shed property and holding companies due to the “direct and indirect” impact of Trump’s victory on interest rates and business process outsourcing (BPO) demand.
“Overall, a Trump presidency could bring economic challenges for the Philippines, especially in trade, investment and remittances,” Cruz said in a text message.
“Additionally, his ‘America First’ policies and corporate tax cuts could reduce demand for labor outsourcing, impacting the BPO industry,” she added.
Losers overpowered gainers, 167 to 46, while 40 companies closed unchanged, stock exchange data showed.
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 02:06 AM July 16, 2024
Money sent home by Filipinos abroad posted its best expansion in five months in May, although figures showed growth of remittances might be plateauing despite the peso’s weakness.
Cash remittances coursed through banks amounted to $2.58 billion in May, up by 3.6 percent compared with a year ago, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Monday. Data showed this was the highest year-on-year growth of remittances since December 2023.
But despite that increase, remittances might not be receiving a significant boost that typically comes from a weak peso, which is now trading at the 58-per dollar level.
Year-to-date, remittances had grown by an annualized rate of 3 percent to $13.37 billion. Data showed cash transfers from Filipinos abroad have been growing at around 3 percent since late 2022, with the BSP projecting the average growth of such inflows to settle at that level again in 2024.
Jeremaiah Opiniano, professor at University of Santo Tomas and executive director at the Institute for Migration and Development Issues, said this trend may “signify a plateau” that had not changed so far despite the currency’s slump.
Stability
“For the past two months (April and May 2024), overseas Filipinos did not take advantage of the low currency exchange rates to motivate them in sending more money,” Opiniano said.
“One would wonder if the efforts of Filipinos abroad to earn more and send money home may have been stretched,” he added.
Money sent home by Filipinos overseas is a major source of purchasing power in the Philippines, where consumption typically accounts for over 70 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). That said, a plateauing remittance growth may translate to sub-par support to consumer spending.
But John Paolo Rivera, senior research fellow at state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies, is seeing “stability” in the current trend.
“Historically, as BSP data reflects, remittances have been consistently stable and increasing given the volume and distribution of Filipinos all over the world driven by various motives in sending remittances,” Rivera said.
Dissecting the BSP’s report, remittances from land-based Filipino workers went up by 3.8 percent to $2.06 billion in May while those from sea-based workers inched up by 2.6 percent to $520 million.
